Students gear up for Quiz Bowl with practice round

David Riddle, far left, moderator of the Lee County Library Quiz Bowl, asks a question to students Colby Kirkman, from left, Carlos Jimenez, Eli Swanson and Kris Uy on Thursday during a practice round at First Presbyterian Church.

SANFORD —

The Lee County Quiz Bowl, originally scheduled for tomorrow, has been officially postponed until Feb. 2 to accommodate any potential bad weather locally — but that didn’t stop students from preparing Thursday afternoon.

“We didn’t want to have any nail biting and hand wringing while waiting to see what happened,” said Lee County Library Director Michael Matochik, one of the Quiz Bowl sponsors.

The date change was announced Thursday during the practice round, giving the teams a chance to adjust to the format and style of the bowl. Students from Lee County High School, Southern Lee High School, Lee Early College and Lee Christian School all have teams in this year’s bowl and will tackle questions concerning math, religion, chemistry, current events, sports, philosophy and other topics, Matochik said.

The Quiz Bowl encourages hard work and strong academic success, he said, and students must think critically while under the bright lights of the stage.

“What is nice about this competition is we are one of maybe a dozen county library systems that still have a Quiz Bowl in the state,” Matochik said.

Robert Newman, coach of the Southern Lee High School team, said he’d like to see his team win, but either way, the members would be having fun. The Southern Lee team has has been meeting for practice since November, he said, and would like to reclaim their top ranking from previous years.

Lee Christian School coach Stephen Coble said that regardless of the outcome of the game, his students were winners for learning new things during the process.

The Quiz Bowl is a chance for students to showcase their academic talents and abilities, said Lee County High School coach Pippa Nelson.

“Always looking forward to the camaraderie of the team and opportunity to enhance our learning,” she said.

The Quiz Bowl is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to noon Feb. 2 at the church hall at the First Presbyterian Church. Other sponsors of the bowl include The Sanford Herald, the First Presbyterian Church and Friends of the Lee County Library.